Saturday, 13 April 2013

Scud-B Missile Remains Filmed Near Raqqa

The following video has been posted by activists in the city of Raqqa, showing the remains of a badly damaged missile (thanks to Mads Dahl)

Fortunately there's enough of the missile to come up with an ID, most of which comes from the tail end. First take a look at the following features on the video and two reference images of a Scud-B missile engine

On the second item note the protruding feature on the outer edge

Also compare the details I've highlighted on the tail fin in the video with the two reference images

It's also worth noting the ridge filmed on one side of the missile, which is also a feature of Scud-B missiles

While this is strong evidence that the remains belong to a Scud-B missile it's harder to be sure if it's actually been fired, especially as there's been evidence of an apparently abandoned Scud-B missile in the Deir Ez Zor region. There appears to be very little evidence of impact, although there only appears to be part of the missile in the area, so the initial impact may have occurred elsewhere, and judging by the dark marks on the ground it's likely the wreckage was burning at some point.